Typically, gas turbine engines include a compressor for compressing air, a combustor for mixing the compressed air with fuel and igniting the mixture, and a turbine blade assembly for producing power. Combustors often operate at high temperatures that may exceed 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. Typical turbine combustor configurations expose turbine blade assemblies to these high temperatures. As a result, turbine blades and turbine vanes must be made of materials capable of withstanding such high temperatures. Turbine blades, vanes and other components often contain cooling systems for prolonging the life of these items and reducing the likelihood of failure as a result of excessive temperatures.
Typically, turbine vanes extend radially inward from a vane carrier and terminate within close proximity of a rotor assembly, and turbine blades extend radially outward and terminate near ring segments. The turbine blades and vanes are formed into rows, referred to as stages. Pressurized cooling fluids are supplied to the blade and vane stages for cooling the blades and vanes to prevent damage and to prevent ingestion of the hot gases into internal aspects of the turbine engine. Typically, each stage is cooled with pressurized cooling fluids that are compressed with a compressor within the turbine engine. The work used to compress the cooling fluids is a loss to the turbine engine. Thus, a need exists for a more efficient cooling fluid feed system design for turbine blades to provide pressurized cooling fluids to enable turbine engine growth and increased operating range.